Rattana’s dreams for Cambodia #GivingTuesday

This is the story of Rattana. He had been an Anjali House student for more than nine years and is now studying law at university through a scholarship offered by the NGO. From a poor background where access to education and healthcare was not conceivable to having a bright future ahead of him, what Rattana has managed to achieve is nothing short of inspiring.

Rattana grew up in a very poor area of Cambodia with very little access to quality education. Growing up in a large family of six children, it was not easy to survive. His road to Anjali House begins with his mother.

When Rattana was ten years old his mother died from cancer. With only his father left to earn a living for the entire family and take care of the house, the task was too much. About three months after his mother’s death, Rattana and his younger brother were enrolled at Anjali House. With the support of the NGO, he has achieved things he could never have imagined.

Anjali House provided him with essentials like education, healthcare, nutritious food as well as life skills. The educational support through Anjali House’s Young Adult Program helped him graduate from high school. Rattana is now studying Law at Build Bright University in Siem Reap and is also working as an assistant librarian at the Center for Khmer Studies. With energy and ambition, Rattana is also applying to continue his studies in the USA.

“In the future, I want to be a lawyer and a professional politician. My aims are to fight against poverty, corruption and a dictator’s government. I want to help develop Cambodia to be a modern country and to lead the government to create Cambodia as a strong democratic country. I believe my country needs people like me, even though I may have started out poor.”

Anjali House is an NGO based in Siem Reap, Cambodia and supports 120 underprivileged children and their families through education, basic care and the arts.

Reliable and transparent, Anjali House has been implementing activities for the past 10 years. It runs an independent yearly audit of its finances and publishes an annual report on its website. http://anjali-house.com/